


Banshee

by Biracial_Mermaid, deadlolidollie



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Awesome Sam Wilson, Bruce is a teacup honestly, Domestic Avengers, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, Jinx is a menace, M/M, Natasha Is a Good Bro, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Cuddling, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Science Bros, Steve is a mother hen, Tony is a petulant child, but she means well, more tags added as the story goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-05-23 09:31:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6112321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biracial_Mermaid/pseuds/Biracial_Mermaid, https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadlolidollie/pseuds/deadlolidollie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the olden time folk tales, a Banshee's cry foretold death to any who heard her eerie wail. For Jinx, it means when she screams: people die. Not just a neat and clean keel over either, a full blown bleeding from the eyes and ears, demonic possession style. After she's found by SHIELD unconscious in an alleyway (surrounded by several very dead HYDRA agents no less), Fury places her in the care of the Avengers in hopes they can mold her into something less...unstable. Cue lots of stubbornness, a lot of ass kicking, finding family in the most unlikely places, oh, and maybe some matchmaking featuring two very oblivious supersoldiers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a looong time coming. It started out as the lovely Cloningmycat going "what if we put our characters in the Marvel universe?" then it kinda grew legs and attacked a small village. Anyhow, enjoy the madness! (Also tags and warnings shall be added as the story progresses, so keep an eye on them!)

Screaming. The smell of blood heavy in the air. The sickening thud of an unconscious body hitting the floor. Blood, so much blood.

_“You’re coming with us, we can use you for so many things little girl.”_

_No, no!_

More screaming, but is it still theirs? No, that’s coming from you; a shrill, piercing sound that causes nearby windows to shatter in protest. You promised yourself you’d never use it again, but these men were out for blood, and you’d be happy to give them some.

But, you couldn’t see the faces of the men around you anymore. They were falling, crumpling to the ground like marionettes whose strings have just been cut. And you were falling with them, blackness and the echo of a commanding voice the only thing surrounding you. Then, nothing.

~

“Well, this is a new one. “ Nick Fury stepped into the narrow alleyway, several SHIELD officers already scattered throughout. He looked down at the unconscious form of the girl, her long, black hair fanning out on the pavement around her head like a shadowy halo. “So,” he began, turning to Coulson “any idea how one girl took down ten HYDRA agents without so much as a scratch on her?”

Coulson seemed to be considering this, his gaze wandering to the agents examining the scattered corpses. “I think she’s the one they’ve been hunting for: the girl with the deadly screams.” he said finally. “She can manipulate sound waves through her voice, generating a pitch that instantly bursts the ear drums of whatever unsuspecting victim crosses her path. Causes some pretty interesting bleeding too, been making the police think that some cult had gone too far and was gathering sacrifices or something.”

Fury nodded, she fit the description that HYDRA had been passing along in whispers: slender, long black hair, early 20s, and a deadly scream. “Take her to the tower, Stark and the others can watch her until we figure out exactly what HYDRA planned to do with our friend here.”

“Right Sir,” Coulson nodded, calling over two agents before leaning down and scooping up the girl. “Get her to Stark Tower, and make sure no one sees you.” The two nodded, one gently taking the girl from Coulson and walking over to one of the vans equipped with a mini med bay. “And the rest of you,” Coulson said, motioning toward the remaining agents “let’s clean this up, huh?”

~

“Mr. Stark, there are agents on their way to the tower. Agent Coulson has sent them along with a confidential message.” The pleasant voice of JARVIS filled the workshop where Tony sat tinkering with a tiny robotic arm. 

“Confidential you say?” Tony asked, lifting his head up in interest. “Well, color me intrigued. Open er up and let’s see what the hubbub is.”

“Certainly Sir,” JARVIS responded, before displaying a file on one of the monitors. “It seems they’ve found The Banshee. And, they’re bringing her here for safe keeping. She seems to be quite injured, shall I contact Doctor Banner?”

“The Banshee, eh? Little Miss Screams A Lot on our team?” Tony had heard the name whispered through the grapevine he kept himself (secretly) connected to. Word had it that some young German girl got on HYDRA’s radar in a bad way. They wanted a new clean killing machine, and wanted her to be the next model. “Yeah, ring up the good doctor, and tell Coulson I’ve received his delivery.”

Tony made his way to the lower level med bay, walking into the sliding glass entrance just as the agents walked in with the girl in tow. “Thank you gentlemen, I’ve got it from here.” Tony said, waving them off as they set her down on one of the hospital beds. One of the SHIELD nurses hurried over, gathering an IV as she did. “I’m having JARVIS do a basic scan, but we’ll find out exactly what’s wrong with our loud friend here as soon as Banner arrives.”

As if on cue, Doctor Banner walked through the sliding glass doors, Helen Cho at his heels. “What’ve we got?”

“Ah, Brucie Bear, you’ve come to join the party!” Tony said gleefully. “Helen, always nice to see you.” He nodded at the other doctor, giving her one of his signature smiles.

“It seems the overuse of her abilities have rendered Ms. Hudec unconscious as well as driven her to the point of severe exhaustion and mild mental trauma.” JARVIS said helpfully.

“Hudec? So the mystery girl has a name eh?” Tony mused, glancing over at her.

“Jinx Hudec, age 23, born in Berlin, Germany. Came to the US on a student Visa at age 17 in order to attend art school in California. She’s made quite the name for herself in the field of music photography, but has been quiet as of late.” JARVIS read out the information in the file that was previously displayed on the screen in Tony’s lab.

“So how did a photographer wind up with powers like that?” Helen asked, gently grabbing Jinx’s arm and connecting the IV.

“That’s the part we don’t know,” Bruce said, eyes scanning the chart behind his glasses. “She wasn’t born with them, so either she’s been experimented on by somebody who knew what they were doing, or she got into a freak accident. These kind of abilities you don’t just develop one day.”

“I’ll take some blood samples and see what we’re dealing with,” Helen said “but I think it’s best to let her rest. It looks like she’s been through hell, and that deserves at least a night’s sleep.”

Tony nodded. “I’ll trust you and Bruce to keep an eye on her?”

Bruce nodded wordlessly. “We’ll get her more stable, maybe see if she’s up for answering a few questions once she wakes up.”

“Excellent, I’ll have JARVIS see if he can dig up anything else helpful.” Tony said, clapping his hands together “But for now I’ll sound the alarm so the others know we’ve got company.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I (deadlolidollie) and my lovely co-author want to thank the lovely humans who have kudo'd this so far! (And even a bookmark aaaah) You're all wonderous~ Also, apologies for the last chapter being so short, it was just meant to be an introduction of sorts. This one is much longer to make up for it. (There is some German in this chapter, but translations shall be posted at the end. I am not 100% fluent, so if there's a goof somewhere please kinda toss things in our general direction and it'll be corrected!)

The next several hours were filled with briefing the rest of the Avengers about the situation at hand, and keeping an eye on their newly acquired guest. Or, more accurately, Tony calling them all into his lab for a “meeting” and dropping the bomb on them while Bruce sat in the med bay making sure Jinx’s vitals didn’t plummet.

“You expect us to believe Coulson hand delivered someone on HYDRA’s capture list, and that she’s both nonviolent and might be willing to cooperate?” Steve was giving him an incredulous look, arms folded across his broad chest.

“Hey, stop that,” Tony scolded. “I am not crazy!” He paused a moment before looking to the monitors in front of him. “In fact, JARVIS, would you be so kind?”

“Certainly, Sir.” 

Video feed from the lower level med bay flashed on the big screen in front of them all, showing a still unconscious Jinx with Bruce and Helen keeping watch over her.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Sam said, looking at the feed in almost disbelief.

“It’s her,” Natasha said, standing up to get a better look. “I’ve heard whispers of her from my connections in Kiev, but I thought it was all shop talk.”

“Care to enlighten the rest of the class, Nat?” Sam asked, brow raised in confusion.

“Like Tony said,” Natasha began, “they call her The Banshee because of what she can do with her voice. Manipulating sound waves with her own vocal chords and using it as a weapon. And if what Fury said is any indication, she could take out an entire army of men if trained right.”

“Which is why our good buddies at HYDRA want to get their mitts on her,” Tony supplied matter of factly. “I mean, we did snag their greatest asset- Barnes, no pun or offence intended-“ Bucky merely waved his hand dismissively from where he stood by Steve “so now they need a shiny new human weapon to do their dirty work.”

“That’s why Fury gave her to us, right? So HYDRA doesn’t get ahold of her?” Clint stepped over from the coffee machine, finally deciding to join the conversation.

“Precisely my fine feathered friend!”

Clint made a quiet “yay” gesture, which made Natasha roll her eyes fondly.

“Hey, Tony!” Bruce’s voice cut in from the video feed.

“Yes, oh jolly green one?” Tony asked in a sing song voice.

“If you want to get anything out of her, you might wanna send down Barnes and Romanov.”

The two straightened up, turning more towards the screen.

“She woke up for a while, and we couldn’t understand a thing she was saying. Her file says she’s perfectly fluent in English, but her brain seems to have forgotten that. And my German skills are nonexistent.”

“We can handle this, Doc. C’mon Talia.” Bucky nodded to the redhead, who followed him down in the direction of the med bay. 

“I should go down there too,” Steve said, making to follow the two former assassins. “I can help somehow, maybe I can-“

“Rogers, sit the hell down.” Sam said, cutting the anxious super soldier off before he could babble out another word. “You know damn well both of them can handle this.”

“I’m with Angry Bird number two here,” Tony piped up. “They’re grownups, they’ve got this. But I’ll leave the video feed on if it’ll make you feel better.”

~

“Think they did this to her?” Bucky asked, turning to Natasha as they walked down the hallway. “If one of HYDRA’s scientists did this to her in the first place, it’d explain why they want her back so badly.”

Natasha shook her head. “You know as well as I do this isn’t their style. If they make someone a weapon, they don’t set them loose before they can even see if their hard work paid off.”

She had a point, Bucky had to admit, but something about this just didn’t sit right with him.

They reached the doors of the med bay, which slid open for them automatically.

“You’ll find Miss Hudec with Doctor Banner in bay 6,” JARVIS said helpfully as they entered. 

“Thanks JARVIS,” Natasha said politely, walking over to where the other two were with Bucky at her heels.

Jinx appeared to be asleep still when they walked up, and Bruce glanced up at them, an appreciative smile on his face. “She’s still pretty confused, so I’m not sure how much you’ll get out of her even being able to understand what she’s saying.”

“Bruce, you doubt my skills,” Natasha tutted, sitting gingerly on the end of the bed. “And James is still very good with the ladies,” she added, earning an eyebrow raise from Bucky.

“Yes, cuz me sweet talkin’ this poor girl is exactly what she needs,” he drawled, rolling his eyes playfully.

A playful smirk still on her face, Natasha gently reached out, hand touching Jinx’s shoulder as she ever so carefully gave her a small nudge. “Jinx…aufwachen Kleiner,” she said softly.

Jinx mumbled something sleepily, eyes scrunching a bit before they opened slowly. Blearily, she looked to Natasha first.

“Guten Morgen,” she said, giving the other girl a soft smile.

“Was…Was ist los? Wo bin ich?” Jinx asked, confused.

“Dich sin dim medizinischen Zentrum des SHIELD.” Bucky supplied, also giving her a kind smile so as not to startle her.

At the sound of his voice, Jinx’s eyes darted over to see who had spoken. “Ah. Ja, gute.” She nodded, returning both of their smiles.

“Erinnern Sie sich, wie man Englisch sprechen?“ Natasha asked.

“Ja, ich spreche Englisch. Ah, I mean, yeah I remember.” She shook her head, as if trying to un-jumble the thoughts inside. “Why did I forget how to speak English? And who are you three?” The air of an accent was still there as she spoke, but otherwise, she was understandable.

“I’m glad to see you’re among the living again,” came Bruce’s voice from the corner desk. “My name is Doctor Banner," he said, getting up and strolling over to them "I’ve been monitoring your care along with Helen here.” Helen waved from the other side of the bed, one hand busy refilling Jinx’s IV. “You’ve been through quite a lot today, and your body is still trying to recover from it.” “This is Natasha and Bucky, they came down to ask you a few questions,” he said, gesturing over to the other two

She glanced up at the two after their introductions, nodding at the two doctors before turning back to Bucky and Natasha. “You two have nice voices,” she mused sleepily. “But I dun remem-“ she cut herself off with a loud yawn “remember much, I just remember blacking out after all of those men were around me, then I woke up here. And, oh God did I- I tried to punch you didn’t I?” She turned toward Bruce, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “I swear that’s not a normal thing for me, I just thought you were-“

“One of them?” Bruce supplied helpfully. “No harm done, you didn’t actually hit me; though, you did show a tray of rubber gloves that you mean business.”

Jinx placed her head in her hands, groaning as she did. “Not only do I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, but I’ve also got a vendetta against gloves. What- What even happened to me anyhow? I was there and now I’m here and-“ her sentence was cut off as the medication from the IV finally kicked in, gently putting her back to sleep.

“Sorry for the horrible timing,” Helen said sheepishly. “But if I don’t get this medication into her, there won’t be much left for you guys to question. I didn’t even think it was humanly possible to exhaust the body to this level without fatal consequences, but apparently her stamina far outlasts the average human.”

“Just give her a few days to rest,” Bruce suggested. “As I said, between the confusion and what her body’s been through, I’m surprised she was able to stay awake that long.”

Natasha nodded. “Would you mind if I stayed down here? Having another set of eyes to keep watch wouldn’t hurt.”

“I wouldn’t object to the company,” Helen interjected cheerfully.

“Good,” Natasha said, nodding a bit. “James, go upstairs and tell everyone they’ll have to wait for their little poke and prod fest, hmm? I think Rogers’ head may explode from worry if you’re gone much longer.” She added the last bit in a teasing tone.

“Yes mother,” he sighed, rolling his eyes at her.

“I heard that!” Steve huffed over the video feed.

“The day you stop being such a mother hen is the day the world explodes, Steve,” Bucky retorted, earning a chuckle from Sam on the other end as he made his way out of the med bay.

~

As soon as Bucky’s retreating form was gone from the video frame, Tony switched it off. “Well, should we draw straws now or later on who gets to help our new friend find out how to control her little gift?” he asked, turning to the remaining Avengers.

“Could always call in Wanda,” Clint suggested. “She’s a good kid and knows a thing or two about getting a handle on freaky ass powers you somehow wound up with.”

“Or,” Sam cut in “And this is a wild concept, we let the poor girl get some damn rest and when she’s up for it, talk to her like she’s a human being instead of a science experiment gone wrong or your latest pet project. I swear none of ya’ll should be trusted to deal with humans on a personal level.”

“Nonsense, my people skills are excellent!” Tony said dismissively. “Just ask Pepper about the last fundraiser Stark Industries hosted.”

“I’m with Sam on this one,” Steve added, giving Tony a stern look.

“Yeah, I gotta agree with Wilson too,” Bucky chimed in as the lab doors opened, walking back to the others.

“I’m sorry, whose extravagantly furnished tower are you all living in for free? I should charge you freeloaders rent!”

This earned a protest from Clint, who promptly started arguing with Tony about the fact that he all but shoved the lot of them into the tower to live with him. 

“So, what do you think?” Steve asked, voice lowered as he turned towards Bucky. “Is this HYDRA’s doing?”

Bucky shook his head. “Nat doesn’t think so, and I’m starting to agree with her. This isn’t their style. They don’t just let their assets loose after giving them “gifts”.” He said the last word as if it tasted foul on his tongue. He knew all too well that the “gifts” HYDRA gave were never good ones. “But,” he continued. “Her abilities are exactly the type of thing HYDRA could use to their advantage.”

“Which is why we have to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Steve was using his Captain voice, trying to convey the seriousness of the situation. He’d already lost someone he cared about to those monsters, and he’d been lucky enough to get Bucky back. The idea of letting them get ahold of an innocent girl made his stomach churn.

Sam nodded. He knew what the face Steve was making meant; the guy carried so much guilt about the things that Bucky had been through, you’d think he would break from it. He also knew that part of the guilt included the fact that Steve had been pining for his best friend since the beginning of time. But, trying to help him work that one out would require Sam to be a hell of a lot less sober than he was right now. So, he decided to do the next best thing.

“Right, I’m gonna go keep Nat and Banner company. I’ll let you guys know if anything changes.” 

“Thanks, Sam,” Steve said appreciatively, giving his friend’s shoulder a light squeeze as he passed.

As soon as Sam left, Bucky turned to Steve, frowning slightly. “Okay, I know that look.”

“What look?” Steve asked, the seriousness in his voice fading a little.

“The look you get when you think about all the shit HYDRA put me through and you blame yourself for not being able to stop it.”

“I don’t-“

“Bullshit,” Bucky cut him off. “You don’t have to hold the entire world on your shoulders, Steve. And that includes me.”

“But-“ Steve cut himself off, teeth worrying into his bottom lip. Logically, he knew none of the horrible things Bucky had been through were his fault. But, some part of his brain kept chanting what if?

_What if he’d managed to catch Bucky before he fell off the train?_

_What if HYDRA hadn’t got ahold of him?_

_What if he’d told Bucky-_

No. Now was _not_ the time to be thinking about that.

“But nothin Rogers.” Bucky said. “Now c’mon, let’s leave those two to keep arguing like an old married couple and go upstairs and finish Game of Thrones. Sam and Nat will keep an eye on the girl.”

Steve smiled a little. Even after all this time, Bucky still tried to make him feel better. _Guess some things never change._ “I like that idea, plus if we stay here much longer they’ll bring us into it.”

As the two walked out, the distinct sound of Tony shouting “For the last time, Barton, you cannot have a bird sanctuary on your floor!” rang through the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aufwachen Kleiner- wake up little one
> 
> Guten Morgen- good morning
> 
> Was…Was ist los? Wo bin ich?- What..What is this? Where am I?
> 
> Dich sin dim medizinischen Zentrum des SHIELD- You're in the medical center of SHIELD 
> 
> Ja, gute- Yes, good.
> 
> Erinnern Sie sich, wie man Englisch sprechen?- Do you remember how to speak English.
> 
> Ja, ich spreche Englisch- Yes, I speak English.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a bit lovelies! I (deadlolidollie) was busy preparing for a convention I'm no longer going to, and both me and my co-author were kinda brain farting on writing. But without further adue, more~! (also important thing: Alley (Cloningmycat)'s internet is reeeeally patchy and uncooperative, so most of the posting will be done by me. We write this together through messaging and I kinda fling it onto a word document and edit it via her approval then post.)

Jinx slept for three days after that. Bruce said this was normal; she didn’t have accelerated healing abilities like some of them, so it was best to have her rest while her body repaired itself.

Sam and Natasha took turns sitting down with them, Natasha even bringing down some movies to pass the time.

Meanwhile, Tony was busy developing something outside of his usual gadgets. “Specialized hearing aids!” he announced gleefully to Bucky and Steve who were gathered around his workstation. “If the lost member of Souxsie and the Banshees is gonna be working with us, we can’t have her giving us the same treatment as those unfortunate HYDRA gentlemen.” He held up a small, clear device. “Modeled it after this one’s aid,” he explained, nodding in Clint’s direction. “Which needed modifying as well, but I digress.” Clint gave them all a thumbs up, reading Tony’s lips and noticing he was mentioned. “I’ve got ones for Bruce, Wilson, and Agent Romanov whenever they decide to grace us with their company.”

“How do you know these will work?” Steve asked, picking up one of the aids and examining it.

“You doubt my skills, Rogers?” Tony asked in mock offence. “You wound me, honestly.”

“Yes, actually I do,” Steve deadpanned. 

“Ouch, drive the knife into my heart further why don’t you,” Tony said, dramatically clutching his chest. “But, ye of little faith, I had JARVIS subject these babies to sounds that would shatter the average- and supersoldier,” he added as an afterthought “human eardrum within a matter of seconds. Similar to what our friend downstairs is capable of.”

“And?” Bucky pressed, picking up one of the devices as well.

“Might as well have been listening to smooth jazz at a whisper level.”

“Damn,” Steve and Bucky said in unison.

“Looks like you still got it, Stark.” Sam walked in through the sliding glass lab doors just as Tony finished his little spiel, joining the other four.

“I never lost it,” Tony retorted with a grin, handing Clint back his newly modified hearing aids. “Since these block the sound waves all together, they’ll even prevent the unsightly bleeding that comes afterward. Or course, you’ll still be able to hear things normally; these aren’t super fancy ear plugs.”

“These are cool and all,” Clint started once his aids were properly back in. “But how do you know she’s even going to want to work with us? She might just agree to be put under protective SHIELD watch and go about her life.”

“Barton’s right,” Sam agreed. “You’re kind of counting your chicks before they hatch. Or, before they get out of their medically induced coma in this case.”

“Nonsense!” Tony said dismissively. “Of course she’s going to join us! We’re awesome! Well, I’m awesome, the rest of you are alright I guess.”

Bucky snorted at that.

“Sam, if you’re up here, does that mean something’s changed?” Steve asked, turning toward him.

“Banner says she’s stable, and with any luck she’ll be up and functioning tonight or tomorrow,” Sam said cheerfully.

“That’s wonderful, Sam,” Steve said, a smile coming to his face.

“I knew the good doctor wouldn’t let her keel over!” Tony chimed in happily.

“Nat should be up soon too, she was just going over some things with Banner,” Sam added.

“I guess that means we should put these things in then?” Bucky asked, holding a pair of aids in his hand.

“It would be highly advisable, Sergeant.” JARVIS chimed helpfully.

Bucky nodded, gently wiggling both devices into his ears as Sam, Steve, and Tony did the same. 

“I’d say that it feels like nothing’s there, but I’m not giving Stark the satisfaction of tainting my innocent declaration.” Sam said with a snicker.

“I heard that!” Tony scoffed, earning an amused grin from Sam.

~

Later that night, a few of the Avengers were gathered in one of the tower’s common floors. Friday had unofficially been declared movie night, and they’d kept the tradition going so far. (Well, minus nights when catastrophe struck. Or when some random monster decided attacking New York was a great idea.)

“Isn’t Thor supposed to be coming?” Steve asked, frowning when he noticed the other’s absence. 

“Mr tall blond and zappy?” Tony said, coming out of the kitchen balancing a few bowls of popcorn. “Something about a negotiation with…I think he described them as blue goat people, not going too well and them wrecking several important Asgardian monuments. So he’s got his hands full unfortunately.”

“Aw damn, I like that guy.” Sam frowned, slightly disappointed as he took one of the popcorn bowls from Tony. “Always tells me cool stories and shit.”

“C’mon Wilson, you know you’re just upset cuz you think he’s pretty,” Bucky teased, stealing a piece of popcorn and popping it into his mouth.

“Hey, I never said he wasn’t,” Sam said, swatting at Bucky to get his own damn bowl of popcorn. “I am secure enough in my sexuality to admit that that man is fine as hell.”

“Now now boys, be nice,” Natasha scolded playfully, also stealing some popcorn from Sam’s bowl as she plopped down beside him. (Which caused Sam to grumble something about “God damned popcorn stealing assassins”, before he resigned to at least sharing with Natasha. Bucky could go harass Steve into sharing, damn it.)

Bucky merely stuck his tongue out at her, settling himself on the other couch next to Steve and resting his head on the other man’s shoulder. 

Sam muttered something about them being overgrown children as he wrapped his popcorn free arm around Natasha, letting her curl into his side as Clint claimed the other cushion and intertwined his legs with hers.

“Now, no popcorn fights,” Tony scolded, walking over to sit beside Bruce with his own popcorn. “I am not cleaning that up, _again_.”

“Yeah yeah start the movie,” Clint said, not in the mood to hear Tony complaining.

Tony ignored the archer’s grumpiness and hit play.

Midway through the second movie, the elevator doors gave a quiet “ding”, and Jinx padded into the common room. Her hair was slightly damp from when she’d evidently taken a shower, and she was wearing a pair of checkered pajama pants and a shirt that suspiciously looked like one of Natasha’s. She walked over to where the others were and settled on a spare chair. Hearing the ding over the low mumble of dialogue on the screen, a few of them looked up just as Jinx plopped into the chair.

“Well, look who’s awake,” Natasha said, smiling softly.

“You feeling alright?” Bruce asked, also giving a kind smile.

“Yeah, I don’t feel like I got hit by a semi anymore, so I guess that’s an improvement.” Jinx said sheepishly.

Bruce snagged the remote from Tony, who pouted rather childishly, and paused the movie momentarily. “That’s excellent to hear,” he said, standing up from the couch. “So, I’m sure you have a few questions, hmm?”

“Well,” she began slowly. “Why am I here and what the hell is going on? I get chased by dudes in full tac gear demanding I surrender to an organization I’ve only read about in history books, and I wake up in a SHIELD medical bay in the basement of Stark tower. Even by my standards, this is really really weird.”

“Unfortunately for literally everyone else in the world, HYDRA didn’t exactly remain history,” Sam said, trying to give a little bit of an explanation.

“They know about your “unique abilities” as it were,” Tony added helpfully. “They want you to be a pretty little mindless killing machine just for them.”

Jinx’s face noticeably paled at this. “I don’t wanna kill anyone. I never did, especially not for them. They’re all monsters, and I’m not gonna let them make me into more of one than I already am.”

“You’re not a monster,” Natasha said soothingly, getting up and crouching by Jinx’s chair. “None of us are completely innocent, and some have more blood on their hands than others.” She bit her lip, throwing a glance over at Bucky, who nodded at her to continue as he gently squeezed Steve’s hand. “But, the difference between us and them, is we actually wanna make things right. Bad things may never stop happening, and HYDRA may never go away completely, but like hell we’re gonna let them burn this world to the ground without a fight.”

Jinx smiled softly at this, nodding at Natasha’s words.

“I swear you’ve been hanging out with Steve too much,” Sam teased, once she was finished. “Rattling off motivational speeches like it’s nothing and making people feel all patriotic and shit.”

“Hey, if I start running around in a star spangled bikini, then you can start giving me shit about being patriotic,” Natasha smirked, earning a middle finger aimed in her direction from the mentioned spangly captain.

Jinx giggled a bit. “Is this your way of trying to convince me to join you guys?” She wondered. “Cuz I really appreciate not being left for dead in an alleyway, and having Bruce and Helen patch me up was definitely great, but I’m not sure how much help I’d be. And isn’t having me around like waving a big sign that says “Hey HYDRA come pay us a visit”?”

“Believe me, you’re much safer with us, or at least with some sort of protective SHIELD custody.” Bruce pointed out. 

“If you don’t want to stay with us, we won’t force you,” Natasha said kindly.

“That’s the difference between us and them,” Bucky chimed in. “We actually give you a choice, they just kinda force you into obeying in the name of “order”.“

Jinx bit her lip, as if weighing her options. “Can I think about it?” she asked tentatively.

“Of course,” Sam said immediately. “Now, come over and sit with us while we finish the movie?” He pat the area between where he and Natasha had settled, which Jinx happily got up and curled up in. Clint protested the extra addition when Natasha sat back down, but she merely hauled him up a bit so he was curled up to her like an overgrown cat. (He totally didn’t purr out of happiness when she ran her fingers through his hair, nope.)

As Bruce un-paused the movie, Tony leaned over and said quietly, “You do know that even if we let our little friend here go back to her “normal life”, she’s going to need some training so she doesn’t accidentally kill anyone. Or end up like she did before; and I highly doubt HYDRA would be so kind as to simply fix her up and set her on her merry way.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Bruce reassured him. “I’ve set up a training session for her tomorrow, at least to get her started.”

“And this is precisely why you’re my favorite.” Tony grinned, planting a kiss on Bruce’s cheek for emphasis.

“Yeah yeah,” Bruce chuckled “Let’s just see how she does, hm?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Jinx join the Avengers? Will Tony and Bruce stop being Science Dads? Ask and ye shall find out~ (Also yes, Clint is actual overgrown catbird that demands cuddles from Natasha.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -pops in with a tray of cupcakes- Soo sorry this took longer than expected dearies. x.x Writer's block is irksome and both of our brains were just making farting sounds. But anyhow, enjoy~

“So, how is me fighting you guys supposed to help me control my “abilities” exactly?” Jinx wondered, wrapping her hands with the offered tape to protect them. She was in one of the tower’s many gym rooms, beginning the first of Bruce’s suggested “training” sessions.

“It’ll teach you how to get a handle on ‘em in stressful situations; and not rely so heavily on them so you won’t wind up exhausted again.” Clint supplied helpfully. He’d agreed to be the “training dummy” on the grounds that Jinx wouldn’t break anything important.

“Or in case you get another visit from your new friends,” Tony chimed in from the corner. He was up there as a supervision of sorts. Y’know, in case things got too rough for Clint to handle. Or in case HYDRA had secretly put a mind control chip or something in the kid’s brain and she went ballistic on the poor archer. Which would be a shame really, he was starting to grow almost fond of her.

“Right,” Jinx nodded. “And I won’t break the windows up here? Cuz me and windows don’t usually get along too well.”

“Taken care of, Miss,” JARVIS chimed pleasantly. “Mr. Stark had the tower’s windows replaced with a glass that can withstand intense sound waves.”

“Oh did he now?” Jinx failed to hide the amusement in her voice at the news.

“Yeah, pretty soon you’ll get your own floor and he’ll be making you cool gadgets and shit,” Clint snickered, wrapping his own hands and taking stance on one of the gym mats. “Alright,” he said, once Jinx had joined him. “Now don’t be worried about hurtin’ me, but don’t exert yourself so much you hurt yourself. Just kinda ease into things and figure out a fighting rhythm that works for ya.”

Jinx nodded in understanding. “Ready when you are.”

“Now keep it clean kiddos,” Tony said, barely looking up from the tablet he was fiddling with.

Clint swung first, throwing a punch that Jinx easily dodged. He was going easy on her, sure, but he wasn’t about to have Banner Hulk out over him giving the poor kid more internal bleeding.

“A sleeping sloth could’ve dodged that,” she scoffed, almost offended. “You don’t have to go that easy on- Oof!” Clint managed to land a punch to Jinx’s stomach while she was mid rant. “Okay ow, never mind.” She coughed out, stepping back a bit. Bracing herself this time, Jinx gracefully avoided Clint’s next punch. That is to say, she decided doing a backflip to avoid getting hit was a genius idea. Which would have been true, if she hadn’t miscalculated the angle and slammed her heel square up into Clint’s nose in the process.

Clint let out a string of expletives and clutched his now profusely bleeding- and probably broken, nose.

“Fuck! I’m so sorry!” Jinx gasped out, realizing what she’d done. “Is it broken?” 

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Clint said from behind his hand, gratefully accepting the towel Tony tossed his way and using it to sop up the blood flow. “But Tony’s gonna have to swap with me until this stops bleeding.”

“No need boys, I’ve got it covered.” Natasha sauntered into the gym room, quirking a brow at Clint. “I’m starting to think I need to bubble wrap you, Barton. Go down and have Helen fix that, I got it from here.” She playfully shoo’d him out of the room, pressing a kiss to the top of his head for good measure as he mumbled from behind the towel.

“Aww, you two are so adorable I could vomit,” Tony cooed from the corner, having not even bothered to move.

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Stark,” Natasha smirked without missing a beat. “C’mon now little one,” she said, turning to Jinx. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Turns out, Natasha was much harder to best than Clint. Their styles were almost matched, the flowing way they moved like a graceful dance.

“You’re a dancer, aren’t you?” 

Jinx grinned a bit at the question tossed her way. “Yeah, been doing it since I was five. How’d you guess? Or was that in my file too?”

“You move like one,” Natasha said simply, catching the other girl’s next swing with ease. “Which makes predicting your movements a cakewalk.”

A devilish smirk crossed Jinx’s face and her eyes fluttered shut momentarily, before flicking open. “Well, how about I get unpredictable then?” Her pupils were completely whited out, giving her eyes an almost eerie glow to them. 

Shock briefly danced across Natasha’s features before she returned a smirk. “Oh, this should be fun.”

Tony made a comment of not being sure if he should be filming this for “posterity” or making sure they didn’t kill each other, but it was lost in the sound of Natasha quickly pinning Jinx to the gym mat.

“Little tip,” Natasha said with a smirk “don’t announce your next move like that, tends to give too much away to your opponent and they can get the better of you.”

“Duly noted,” Jinx coughed out, taking the hand Natasha offered once she’d backed off and standing back up.

“Your instincts are right though,” the redhead praised. “You figured you couldn’t overpower me through physical fighting alone, so you used your abilities.”

“If ya can’t beat em, fight dirty.” Tony chimed in, hopping up from his corner perch and joining them on the mat with the tablet he’d been fiddling with in tow. “And what I’m making will help you fight even dirtier- er colder in this case.” He passed the now glowing tablet over to a perplexed Jinx.

“I haven’t even said yes to joining you guys and you’re already making me armor?” She asked in confusion, waving a hand over the tablet as an image of blueprints floated above it.

“Call it your complimentary muffin basket for your consideration of membership to our humble team,” Tony said with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

The blueprints showed sketches of what appeared to be an ordinary pair of black, elbow length gloves; possibly silk or some other soft fabric. “These look like I’m auditioning for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, not like something I can use to fight off a bunch of HYDRA goons.”

“Ah-ah don’t pass judgment so quickly,” Tony chastised, swiping his hand over the more solid sketch of the gloves and causing them to turn over.

“What the-“ 

The palm of the gloves housed a small, glowing circular device that made them highly resemble Tony’s own suit’s.

“Now I know what you’re thinking,” Tony began as if reading Jinx’s mind. “And no, I didn’t clone the gloves of my suit; well, not exactly. These babies don’t shoot lasers, oh no! There’s very tiny pumps filled with liquid nitrogen, which condenses inside the handy- no pun intended, little crystals inside the palms to create a blast powerful enough to freeze someone from the inside almost instantaneously.”

“So basically,” Jinx said once Tony was done with his little spiel. “You’re either trying to make me into Elsa or a Death Knight?”

“Except much more badass,” Tony nodded, grinning a bit. “And what the hell is a Death Kn- Oof!” The rest of his sentence was cut off as Jinx suddenly squeezed him in a tight hug. “Okay she’s a hugger, yay hugs!” He gave the younger girl’s back a gentle pat as Natasha snagged the tablet that was threatening to fall out of his unoccupied hand.

“Careful, you let her hug you any tighter and she may imprint on you like a baby duck.” She joked, setting the tablet back onto Tony’s corner desk.

“Nah, I think she’s already done that with you, Romanov,” Tony added once Jinx had released him (and turned slightly pink at that comment). “I’m just the incredibly good looking genius who makes her cool gadgets.”

~

After Natasha got the better of Jinx so easily, she agreed to train the other girl with a little help from some of the others. Well, mainly Bucky and the occasional chime in from Tony using it as excuse to see if the new blasters he installed in his suit were any match for the ones in Jinx’s gloves. They kept it up for a few months before both Natasha and Bruce were satisfied with the results. Which meant it was time for Jinx to decide.

“So what’ll it be Susie Screams-A-Lot?” Tony asked, clapping his hands together. “Shall we set you free to be the best little butterfly you can be, or have you decided to grace us with your humble company?”

Jinx rolled her eyes fondly, giving Tony a small smirk. “Y’know, despite getting trained by actual ninjas, I still have no idea what the hell I’m doing.” This earned a chuckle from Bucky, who was standing beside Natasha and Steve in their usual common floor’s living room as they awaited Jinx’s decision. “And,” she continued “I wanna do something good with these freaky abilities, not just be scared of them.”

“Well,” said Tony grinning widely. “In that case, welcome to our little family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now things really start to happen~ The past few chapters have just been kinda introducing everything, but you'll get to see some things in action very soon. (Like maybe the oblivious supersolider nerds. -cough-) Also, yes Jinx is a giant nerdlord and makes random World of Warcraft references.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, updating didn't take ages this time. :D Enjoy, lovelies~

After agreeing to join them, Jinx was provided a room with all of the amenities a girl could need. Crisp, new bed sheets on her mattress each night, a room with natural light that looked over the entire city... That wasn't to say nothing was missing from her life, though. Her chest still twisted with the dull ache of homesickness, just as it had upon leaving the fairytale-esque country she'd been brought up in; for the less welcoming concrete jungle. 

Each time she'd asked to make a phone call- "I just want to check on my dog!"- she was gently (but firmly) shot down for "security reasons". Irritated though she was, Jinx understood their concern; so she waited. She tried to fill her time between training sessions, but it dragged on when her only distraction was scoping out the palpable romantic tension between two of her new roommates. Without any large-scale catastrophes in the city, it was too peaceful for even her own comfort. 

The morning after Jinx was granted her phone, though, all of that peace came to a screeching halt. 

It happened in the early morning, just as Nat was stretching awake and glancing out towards Central Park, thinking about the smog-laced dew that must have been kissing the grass at the precise moment. Just beyond her wall, she heard Sam yawn loudly and figured he either just woke up momentarily or was about to actually start the day like her. There was really no telling with his lack of a sleeping schedule. 

The soft, affectionate smile on her lips fell abruptly as a piercing scream rang through the hallways. Realizing that none of the men she lived with were effeminate enough to make such a sound, her immediate thought was that something had happened to Jinx. Aids shoved into the canals of her ears, Nat leapt from her bed and darted to the entrance, the very area she heard the scream coming from. 

Evidently, everyone else had heard it as well, for numerous boxer and/or robe clad men came barreling down the hallway behind her. Given the circumstance, the team had collectively expected a slew of dead HYDRA agents; but were pleasantly surprised when they instead saw Jinx's face buried into the shoulder of a tiny, lithe pixie girl with curly blonde hair. 

The girls clung to one another for a lingering moment before the smaller of the two detached, seemingly unnoticing the Avengers standing off to the side, watching the bizarre scene. "I can't believe you didn't call! You disappear without a trace and- what was I supposed to think?! Nyxx was worried sick! I was wo-" 

"I couldn't call, Alley, I'm sorry," Jinx stated softly. The blonde, apparently named Alley, shot her a pensive- though, considerably worried- glance. She very obviously demanded an explanation, which Jinx provided. "I... I screamed." 

The girl's face fell into a mask of soft empathy, and she quickly grabbed Jinx by the hand. "Oh, god, again? Who was it this time?" 

So, she knew about The Banshee situation. That was comforting. Not as comforting was the tension between the two; not unlike being stuck in a room with Bucky and Steve after a few drinks. 

Jinx nibbled at her bottom lip and then shook her head. "I can't really say. Just know that I wanted to call you, really! I wanted you to hit me with that Alley advice and tell me it would be okay." 

"I still don't know what's going on," Alley murmured, tangling their fingers together. Their hands were firmly laced together before she continued. "But I know that it'll be okay. You'll make it out alive, I promise. You've got this." 

Jinx smiled softly at the encouraging words and bent her head so that their foreheads met. "Thank you, mein süße..." 

The blonde grinned and, just to feel less vouyeristic, Bruce cleared his throat to notify the girls that they were there. At the sound, Alley sort of jumped and they detached themselves in favor of glancing towards the crowd. "Good morning..?" The statement came out broken and confused, but didn't go unappreciated. 

"Morning!" Jinx greeted, mood brightened tenfold by the girl beside her. "I hope we didn't wake anyone up. Alley got a bit excited when she got here." 

"I thought you were dead!" 

"She's a bit, how do you say- melodramatic." 

"How dare you?!" 

"Alright, alright, as cute as you two are together with the young love and all," Sam began, stepping forward with his hands outstretched to grab attention. "I've gotta ask... Is Tony aware that you let some stranger come in at seven am?" 

"Of course." As if appearing out of thin air, one Tony padded his way around the corner, biting into a granola bar. "Jinxy here wanted her stuff. She asked if her friend could bring it by, and I gave her the okay." He paused to offer the blonde a smirk- which was reciprocated- as he wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders. "B'sides, these little munchkins need each other. Gals need their pals, right? Preferably, not too much, though, because I'd really like to talk to you privately sometime-" 

"Well shit," Sam mumbled quietly, leaning in to Bucky, watching with disgusted fascination as Alley and Tony made obvious underhanded passes at one another. "Looks like I was wrong about the young love thing." 

"Not quite," Steve replied, motioning to Jinx, who watched with pursed lips, puckered as though she was trying to swallow something sour as she narrowed her eyes in the pair's direction. "I think you're dead on."

“Yeah, sure, show her around or something while I put my stuff away,” Jinx said suddenly, grabbing one of the boxes littering the floor. 

“Here, lemme help,” Bucky offered, grabbing a bigger, heavier looking box from the bunch and following Jinx to her room.

“Ah yes I do think I’ll give this lovely little darling a private tour of my lab while Robocop ever so kindly gets our new inductee all moved in,” Tony said, snaking his arm around Alley’s waist and leading the smiling girl towards the elevators.

“So,” Bucky said, setting the box down in Jinx’s room. “Wanna tell me why you looked at Stark like you wanted to stab him in the spleen then proceed to carve it out?”

“Because he’s a fucking douche canoe and I don’t want America’s most notorious playboy getting anywhere near my best friend?” Jinx’s answer was all but spat out as she set the box she was carrying gently down on the bed.

“Okay, touchy subject, sorry,” Bucky said sheepishly, backing off a bit. “And you swear like a sailor by the way.”

She shrugged. “If you’re around American band guys for long enough you start to pick up some colorful language.”

Bucky thought for a moment before trying to approach the subject again. “So, do you two have something going on?”

“What me and Alley? No, why?” Jinx raised a confused brow before turning back to the box on the bed, which she carefully pulled a fluffy, black Pomeranian puppy out of.

“You two just seemed really close and- is- is that a puppy or a black cotton ball with feet?” Bucky’s entire train of thought was suddenly derailed by the unexpected appearance of the fuzzy animal.

“It’s a puppy, I promise,” Jinx laughed, petting the dog gently. “His name is Zero. I didn’t wanna leave him with Alley, so I kinda had her sneak him in here.” At the mention of his name, Zero yipped happily.

“He’s cute,” Bucky said, reaching out his flesh hand for Zero to sniff.

“I think he likes you,” Jinx observed as Zero proceeded to cover Bucky’s hand in sloppy puppy kisses. “You can hold him if you like,” she offered, holding out the now wiggling puppy. 

Bucky merely shrugged before taking said wiggling fluff ball, who promptly attacked his face with kisses. “Gah, hey!” he huffed, scrunching his nose at the barrage of puppy smooches.

Jinx giggled at the sight of a former deadly assassin being almost overpowered by five pounds of pure puff. “Okay, that’s enough you,” she said, retrieving Zero and saving Bucky from any more face licking. “Sorry, he’s a little excitable.” She said sheepishly, giving the puppy’s head a pat.

“I’ve dealt with worse,” Bucky said, chuckling a bit as he wiped his face off a little.

“So,” Jinx began, setting Zero down on the bed. “Why did you ask if me and Alley had something going on earlier?”

“Well, you see-“ Bucky started, trying to figure out how to phrase this. 

Jinx raised a brow in amusement, a smirk playing on her face. “You interested in me or something there, soldier? Cuz I don’t think Captain America would be too happy if I ran off with his boyfriend-“

_Wait, what?!_

“Whoa, wait; me and Steve aren’t together.” Bucky interjected, stopping the girl mid-rant. 

Now it was Jinx’s turn to be confused. “Seriously?” she asked, giving him a look of disbelief. “Guess I just read you two wrong.”

“Read us wrong?”

“Yeah, I mean I _have_ been living here seven months already.” The black haired girl reasoned. “And I’ve gotten to know you guys pretty well in that time.” “For example,” she continued, opening the box Bucky had brought in so she could unpack something other than her puppy. “I know that Nat sings in Russian when she cleans sometimes, and that Sam likes to listen to Marvin Gaye before he goes to bed. And I know how you are around Steve.”

Bucky bit his lip. This kid was pretty damn perceptive. “How I am around him?” he asked, grabbing out a smaller box marked “jewelry and stuff” and setting on Jinx’s vanity.

Jinx smiled at him softly. “You look at him like he hung the moon and every single star in the sky. And he looks at you like you're the sun and he's too afraid to get close to you or he'll get burned. Now, I'm no expert so you can tell me I'm wrong. But, I know when I see two people who're hopelessly in love. Whether you two do anything about it is up to you."

“You’re not wrong,” Bucky said, voice coming out softer than he’d intended. “Ever since I got away from HYDRA, he was the only good thing I had. Hell, he was the only good thing I remembered.” He shook his head a bit, leaning down to pet Zero’s head as the puppy gave his leg a concerned nudge. “But, he’s stuck on the old version of me. This version is a little too fucked up for him to love.”

Jinx could practically feel her heart breaking. _Too fucked up to love? Now that’s bullshit._ She thought, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Bucky in a comforting hug. 

Bucky stiffened a bit at the unexpected contact, but relaxed when he realized the smaller girl was just hugging him. He wrapped both arms around her, giving her back a gentle pat. “Talia and Sam weren’t kidding, you are a hugger,” he chuckled lightly.

“If I think you’re a good human, I hug you,” Jinx mumbled into the fabric of his shirt. _Besides, what else am I supposed to do when you tell me that you think the man who literally went to hell and back for you doesn’t love you?_ Sure, she knew to an extent what Steve and Bucky had gone through for each other; Natasha had mentioned it a bit while she was giving Jinx a brief background story on each of the other Avengers. And, she’d overheard Sam talking to Steve about “how it was about damn time he stopped avoiding the situation and actually talk to Barnes about how he felt like the grown ass man he was”.

Bucky smiled down at her. “Well, somebody besides the rest of these nerds has to,” he said, letting go of her surprisingly strong hold. “Now c’mon, let’s unpack the rest of your things so you can get properly moved in, hm?”

Jinx nodded, walking out to the main living room to grab another box to unpack. As she did so, a thought passed through her mind. _I might need Sam’s help for this, but I have got to get these two to figure things out._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand thus Jinx begins project "get the supersoldier nerds together". This could only go terribly. (Also no one tell Tony there's a puppy. Shh. >_>)
> 
> Also, mein süße= my sweetie


End file.
